"rags to riches"

Example 1:

Every one knows who Oprah Winfrey is, but many people don't know much about her life before she was famous.

Oprah's life is a true example of a "rags to riches" story. She grew up poor and disadvantaged in Mississippi and is now one of the richest and most powerful women in the world! Wow!



Example 2:

Seth: Let's see a movie this weekend.

Mary: OK, which one do you have in mind?

Seth: I don't remember the name, but it's a rags to riches story set in India. The main character is a poor guy who wins a game show and becomes rich.

Mary: Oh! you're talking about Slumdog Millionaire!



Meaning:
rags to riches can be used to describe a story where a very poor person becomes rich.

This idiom is from LSI's book "Reading Horizons," which is used in the level 6 Reading/Vocabulary classes. For more information, please visit http://www.languagesystems.com

see eye to eye

Example 1:

Marc: I'm sorry, but if we don't see eye to eye on this project, I will have to select a new partner. It is important that we all agree.

James: I understand that it is important for us to work together. I will do my best.

Marc: Thank you. I appreciate your cooperation.



Example 2:

Stacy: Why do you fight with your boyfriend so much?

Macy: We never see eye to eye on anything. For example, he thinks we should get married and I think we are OK like this. He also thinks playing video games is a great way to spend time together. I hate video games!

Stacy: Do you guys agree on anything?

Macy: Yes, we see eye to eye on many things, too, like movies, music, and food.


Meaning:
to see eye to eye = to have the same opinion
to see eye to eye + on ______ = to have the same opinion about _____

In example 1, two people are working together on a project, but they have different opinions, they don't see eye to eye.
In example 2, Macy is explaining that her boyfriend has different opinions about marriage and video games.
They don't see eye to eye on marriage or video games, but they see eye to eye on movies, music, and food.

This idiom is from LSI's book "Reading Horizons," which is used in the level 6 Reading/Vocabulary classes. For more information, please visit http://www.languagesystems.com

To raise (one's) voice

Idiom: to raise (one's) voice

 

Context #1:

 

Wife:  "Why are you coming home so late from work?  You said you would be home at 8!"

Husband (in a loud angry voice): "I hit traffic!  Ok?  Just calm down."

Wife: "You don't have to raise your voice.  I'm just asking because I was getting worried about you."

Husband:  "I'm sorry.  I didn't mean to yell at you.  I just had a really stressful day at work."  

 

Context #2:

 

Sara:  My mom is so nice to me.  I really appreciate her a lot.

Kathy:  I know!  Your mom is such a sweetheart.  You're very lucky.

Sara:  Even whe she gets mad or upset, she never raises her voice at me.

 

Meaning:  to raise one's voice means to talk in a loud manner, usually due to anger or frustration.  When people get into a fight or an argument, very often someone will raise their voice.  This expression can be found in the LSI textbook titled "Reading Savvy."  This book is used to teach level 5 Reading/Vocabulary classes.  For more information please visit www.languagesystems.com

To pile up

Idiom: To pile up

 

Context #1

 

Mother:  Can you please clean your room?  Your dirty clothes are starting to pile up.  Pretty soon you will have a mountain of dirty clothes.

Daughter:  Ok Mom!  Don't worry.  I promise I'll put all my dirty clothes in the laundry basket before I go to bed tonight.

 

Context #2

 

Tom: Wow!  Today was so busy at work.  I was sick for three days so I couldn't come in to work.  Now my work has piled up for three days.  I checked my email and I had like 50 messages in my inbox.

Joe: Sounds like you will be busy this week.  Good luck catching up on all those emails.

 

Meaning:  the idiom "to pile up" is used when the amount of something increases to a relatively large amount.  It is usually used for things like work, clothes, books, and other random things. 

This idiom can be found in the LSI textbook Speaking Transitions which is used to teach Level 4 Speaking/Listening classes at LSI schools.  For more information please visit www.languagesystems.com

To depend on (something/someone)

“To depend on (something/someone)”

EXAMPLE 1:

Eli: I’m almost finished packing my bags for our camping trip, Gina. But…should I bring a rain jacket? What do you think?

Gina: That’s a good question. I don’t know if it will rain or not. It just depends on the weather! It might be really sunny, but it might be cold and rainy! So maybe you should bring one just to be safe.

Eli: OK. Should I bring my fishing pole?

Gina: Hmm…that depends on where we stay. If we camp near a river or lake, you should bring one, but if we don’t stay near water, you won’t need one. I don’t know.

Eli: All right, I’ll bring my fishing pole anyway. Should I bring my teddy bear?

Gina: Eli, please shut up! I haven’t finished packing yet!

Meaning #1:

“to depend on (something)” usually means that the result of an action might be different because of unknown factors.

EXAMPLE 2:

A baby bird cannot fly yet, so it depends on its mother to bring food so it can eat.

Meaning #2:

“to depend on (someone)” usually means to rely on someone, but sometimes it has the same meaning as Meaning #1. It depends on the sentence!

This idiom is used in our Reading Transition book!

To Make Ends Meet

To Make Ends Meet

John and Barb have been married for 42 years. John worked as an executive at a prestigious company for 30 years and retired in 2002. Barb was an attorney and retired in 1995. They both made a lot of money,  lived in a very nice house in Beverly Hills, and drove expensive cars. One day they decided to go to Las Vegas and gamble. Since they were retired, they started going there every weekend. They could not stop gambling. That became their hobby. Their hobby became an addiction. John and Barb sold their house and moved to Vegas. They lost all their money in Vegas. Now, John and Barb work at a hot-dog stand in front of a casino. They now have to save every dollar they have in order to pay for the rental of their trailer. They used to be millionaires and now they have to work really hard to make ends meet. Sometimes they are able to pay the bills, sometimes they have to ask their kids for money. Their family decided not to help them anymore because their addiction is out of control.

To make ends meet means to only have enough money to pay your basic bills. This means, the person does not have any extra money after paying his/her bills.

This idiom is used in our LSI Reading Horizons book. For more information, please visit http://www.languagesystems.com/

To get a jump on

Idiom: to get a jump on 

First example: Annie knows that the stores will be crowded from Thanksgiving until the New Year holiday because people want to buy lots of gifts for the holidays.  Annie hates crowds and she tries to avoid them as much as she can.  This year, she plans to get a jump on her holiday shopping and start buying gifts during the summer and back-to-school sales.  If she does most of her shopping early, she will be able to relax and enjoy the holidays.

Meaning: “To get a jump on” means to get something started before it has to be started.  In other words, you begin something early to make sure it’s done on time.  In this situation, Annie will start shopping in the summer.  If she can get a jump on buying gifts, she won’t feel stressed during the regular holiday shopping season.

Here is another example:Second example: Peter works hard all week, so he likes to sleep late on the weekends.  He usually wakes up around 11 or 12 on Saturdays and Sundays.  But last weekend, his parents came to visit him Saturday afternoon.  Peter wanted to make sure his apartment was clean and that he had dinner prepared for his parents.  Friday night, he got a jump on all of the chores he needed to do.  Before he went to bed, he cleaned his kitchen and bathroom, and made the dessert for after dinner.  That made his Saturday much easier for him.

Meaning: In this situation, Peter wanted to make sure he was ready for his parents’ visit.  If he waited until Saturday to do everything, he might not have finished his chores before his parents arrived.  So he got a jump on all of the tasks he needed to do by starting them on Friday night.

This idiom is from LSI's soon-to-be-published book "Speaking Horizons," which will be used in the level 6 Listening/Speaking classes. For more information, please visit http://www.languagesystems.com